GameCap - November 18 vs. Eastern Michigan

It took a little over six minutes for Marquette to score its first basket, but then Jerel McNeal drove to the basket and picked up two points to start a 7-0 run. It was smooth sailing from there on out. The Warriors hit 5 of their last six first half three point attempts to take a 44-32 lead at the half.

The Warriors once again used hot shooting to get an easy victory, shooting 46% from the field and 48% from deep. They missed their first eight outside attempts, but once they got rolling, they didn't let up.

Dominic James again led Marquette in scoring with 17 points and assists with 6. The Warriors lived up to their top-20 ranking for the second straight game. Once again, everyone got involved. Only walkons Tommy Brice and Craig Kuphall failed to score, and five players scored in double figures. A balanced attack will come in handy against tougher competition, as will the playing experience for the young guys.

The 95-62 win allowed the Warriors to coast to an easy victory and it was a nice tune-up for Texas Tech on Monday. If Marquette continues to shoot as well as they have for the past two games, they will have a good chance to take down the Red Raiders.

Game Preview - November 18 vs. Eastern Michigan

The Warriors are taking a little break in between the action of the CBE and will take on Eastern Michigan at the Bradley Center today. It will be the final tuneup for the boys before heading to KC to take on Bobby Knight and the Red Raiders of Texas Tech on Monday.

After finding their stride Tuesday against Detroit, look for Marquette to try to get off to another fast start. If they can get good ball movement and hit a few shots, they could begin to put this one away early. Dominic James got things going against Detroit, and that was a key in the game, so look for him to do it again. Fellow sophomores Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal will also look to have nice games.

Against Detroit, Lazar Hayward finally showed the potential we had all been hearing about. He will begin wearing number 32 today, his old high school number, in response to the controversy with George Thompson that we talked about a few days ago. He needs to continue building on what he showed the other night, as he will be needed against tough Big East opponents. David Cubillan has played great defense in the first few games and has shown a nice shooting stroke. He will be a good guy coming off the bench, especially as he becomes more consistent on the offensive side.

Senior Mike Kinsella has been injured again. It was announced that he has a stress fracture, and will miss several weeks. It is hoped that he can be back for conference play, but with another injury and the amount of playing time that he was getting, this may more or less end the Mike Kinsella era at Marquette.

I think the Warriors will continue their good ball movement and shooting, even if its not quite as good as the 55% that it was the other night. They should run away with this one early. If you have questions or comments, remember you can shoot me an email at marqbball@excite.com. Also, head over to MUScoop for some great Marquette discussion. I've got a link over on the side, it's been there about a week, don't know if you've clicked on it yet.

Prediction: 86-63 Marquette

Playing the Numbers Game

Marquette University, and specifically the athletic department, have angered one of their alumni. That's bad enough, but what makes it worse is that that alum is Marquette's all-time leading scorer and basketball legend George Thompson. George wore the number 24 back in his playing days, and it was retired after he left Marquette. His name and number currently hang in the rafters of the Bradley Center along with names like Ellis, Lee, Tatum, Lucas and McGuire.

Normally, when someone's number is retired, nobody wears it ever again. No Bulls player wears no. 23, no 49er wears no. 16, no UCLA Bruin wears no. 33, and no Marquette basketball player wears no. 24. Except for the first three games of this season, freshman forward Lazar Hayward has worn no. 24. This has apparently angered George Thompson, who was not even contacted by the university about this. He told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, "As I understood it, when a number is retired, they go through all of the motions and they put it up on a banner with the rest of them and no one else can wear it, which I guess is the point of the whole thing."

According to the athletic department, Marquette actually retires jerseys, not numbers. The idea is that since the NCAA only allows players to wear numbers in which each digit is between 00 and 5 for reasons we will discuss later, they would soon run out of numbers if they retired numbers. The only problem is that every year, the team's media guide specifically says that it is retired numbers, and never claims that it is the jerseys that are retired.

Now the reason that the NCAA only allows 37 different numbers to be worn by basketball players is that they want to make it easier for referees to signal to the scorers table which player has committed a foul. Under this system, referees are able to make this symbol with one hand. The NBA, of course, allows players to wear any number from 00 to 99, and I have never heard of a referee having trouble signaling which player committed the foul. Once again, the NCAA is being stubborn with some antiquated rule. A player should be able to wear any number he chooses, provided, of course, that it has not been retired by his school.

There has been a considerable backlash against Thompson from the Marquette community on this issue. Many feel that he should have simply called athletic director Bill Cords instead of going to the press to handle this issue. But the fact of the matter is that he should not have had to handle anything. Cords and head coach Tom Crean should have known better than to offer the number of a Marquette legend to a freshman without even consulting him. Even if it is policy to only retire the jersey and not the number, it is clear that Thompson's understanding was that Marquette was retiring his number, and that no one else would ever wear it. Furthermore, if this had not happened, and next year, or the year after, some player were to come in and wear no. 3, which will be retired for Dwyane Wade in February, everyone would be in an uproar over how they let someone else wear Wade's number. If everyone would take that into consideration, maybe the reaction to Thompson would not be so harsh.

Many people have mentioned today that Doc Rivers wore no. 31, even though it was retired for Bo Ellis. This would be a good point, except that it wasn't retired until well after Doc had left Marquette, and it was later retired for Doc, as well. It has also been mentioned that Ryan Amoroso was allowed to wear 43 even though it was retired for Earl Tatum. Ryan, however was already wearing the number when it was retired, so Marquette allowed him to continue wearing it.

The fact of the matter is that once someone's number goes up in the rafters, no one else wears it. It's not like Marquette is exactly running out of numbers, either. Out of the thirty-seven available numbers, Marquette has retired six. If at some point, numbers were becoming scarce, perhaps it would be necessary for those numbers to become jerseys. But even then it might warrant a phone call to the guy who wore it before.

Click here to read the article from the MJS

GameCap - November 14 vs. Detroit

One night after shooting 29% en route to a 3 point overtime victory, the Marquette Warriors shot 55% from the field and steamrolled the Detroit Titans 87-45. The Warriors used great ball movement and nice outside shooting to break up Detroit's zone and open things up a bit. In fact, they improved in just about every area and were in control from the opening tip. The win advances them to the CBE final four starting next Monday.

The Warriors made several shots early on to get Detroit out of their zone defense, and after holding an 11-8 lead, proceeded to go on an 11-1 run. They hit shots from the outside, shooting 52% from downtown, and were able to drive to the basket, something they couldn't do against Idaho State. Everybody made a solid contribution to the effort as the Warriors showed that they can play as well as their No. 17 ranking.

The Warriors were led by CBE Regional MVP Dominic James who led all scorers with 20 points and added 5 assists. He hit two shots from behind the arc and would not be denied when driving to the hoop. He was a preseason all-american this year, and tonight he showed why.

Several other Warriors made strong contributions as well. Wesley Matthews added 15 points to the total and led the way with 8 boards. He also did not commit a turnover. David Cubillan put up 10 points and played very tight defense while getting some more time at the point. Lazar Hayward also got it going for the first time in his young Marquette career, picking up 14 points and a few key rebounds.

All in all, the Warriors looked nothing like the team that struggled to pick up an overtime win last night. They dismantled the zone with great passing and sharp shooting, and opened up the lane for drives. Whenever Marquette can play like this, they can beat anyone.

Game Preview - November 14 vs. Detroit - CBE Regional Championship

Marquette survived a tough OT game with Idaho State last night and tonight they will face old rival Detroit to see who will advance to Kansas City. The Warriors lead the all time series 67-20, and the 87 meetings between the two schools are the fourth most games played against an opponent for Marquette, behind DePaul, Notre Dame, and Wisconsin. The two schools are playing for the first time since 1991.

The Warriors will need a more consistent effort from everybody if they want to advance to Kansas City. Poor shooting from both the field and the free throw line almost put the Warriors into tonight's regional consolation game instead of the regional championship. Better shot selection and more movement off the ball in the halfcourt should improve the shooting percentage, but more time in the gym is the only thing that will improve the shooting at the charity stripe.

The Warriors also need sophomore point guard Dominic James to start taking over games in key situations. James is the leader the rest of the team looks to after an impressive freshman campaign, and he needs to initiate the action. Once he does that, defenses will begin to key on him, opening things up for everyone else. Expect a big game from Dom tonight, and look for everything to run much smoother offensively.

The key will be how the team responds to last night's close game and lackluster performance. If they come out determined and focused, they will run away with this game, just like their record suggests they should. If they don't, it will be another close one and it could go either way. I expect a good game, but not the nail-biter of last night.

Prediction: 72-65 Marquette

GameCap - November 13 vs. Idaho State

On a night when everyone expected the Marquette Warriors to look like a top 20 team, the Warriors squeaked out a 59-56 victory in overtime, in a game in which they were losing with 3.5 seconds remaining in regulation. They struggled to shoot 29% from the field and 51% from the free throw line and frequently looked lost in the halfcourt on offense.

The Idaho State Bengals showed every team in the country how to beat Marquette. They played a tight zone all night that forced the Warriors to beat them with the three, and they couldn't do it, shooting 20% from downtown. Dominic James provided some late scoring to lead the way with 17 points. The offense seemed content to use the 3-guard weave all night, and there was very little movement without the ball, especially by the big men, but the perimeter players didn't move much either.

The free throw line is where the Warriors almost lost it. They missed 15 free throws and would have lost in regulation had Dan Fitzgerald not split a pair in the closing seconds of the second half. Ousmane Barro also hit two clutch free throws in overtime, the only Warrior to go perfect from the line. Missed free throws seem to be a recurring theme early in the season, and it could lead to losses against stronger teams if it is not corrected.

At the end of the night, the Warriors were lucky to walk out of the stadium with a win. A shooter needs to be found to break up the zone defenses that Marquette will continue to see until they prove they can beat it. The defensive intensity was good, but that alone won't be enough against a Big East opponent.

Game Preview - November 13 vs. Idaho State - CBE First Round

So tonight begins the College Basketball Experience-CBE-with Marquette taking on Idaho State. The CBE consists of four regionals-Marquette, Texas Tech, Stanford, and Duke-with four teams each. First round winners will square off for the regional championships, and the four regional champions will go to Kansas City for the final two rounds.

Marquette will be looking to live up to its early season hype after struggling to a ten point win over Hillsdale on Friday. Wesley Matthews will try to get back the shooting touch he had in leading the 17th ranked Warriors in scoring in the exhibition against Cardinal Stritch. Limiting turnovers and taking smart shots will be key for the Warriors to play as well as they know they can.

This is a tournament that the Warriors can win, however a lackluster effort will leave them at home instead of Kansas City. That shouldn't be a problem, so look for them on ESPN2 in the championship next week.

Prediction: 84-69 Marquette

5 Things Marquette MUST Improve On

Through two games-one exhibition and one real one-the Warriors have not lost, yet they have left a lot to be desired against D-III Cardinal Stritch and D-II Hillsdale. Their play in these two games will not be good enough against Big East opponents or even in next week's CBE. Here are five things that the team absolutely must improve upon in order to be the team that they could be, which is a team that will challenge for the regular season and tournament Big East championships.

1. Fouling
The Warriors have committed an unnacceptable 52 fouls through two games. This has led to 56 free throw opportunities, 40 of which came Sunday night against Stritch. Luckily, their two opponents have managed to hit only 60% of those, but that is just the inneptitude of the two schools. Better schools will hit more free throws, and that could be the difference between a win and a loss.

2. Free Throw Shooting
This seems to be a continuing theme from last year. Marquette has managed to shoot an abysmal 68.4% from the charity stripe, yet Dominic James is somehow shooting 91% (11-12). So even with D James miraculously improving, the Warriors have still been horrible from the line. Add to this the fact that James will likely come back to earth and you have got to be worried. With Wes Matthews and Jerel McNeal shooting worse than they should for guards, and no one who looks like they will be anywhere near as automatic at the line as Steve Novak was last year, the Warriors look like they need to spend a little time practicing their free throws.

3. Perimeter Shooting
It was hard to predict how well Marquette would shoot from the outside this season. They lost sharpshooter Steve Novak to the NBA, but they still have Dan Fitzgerald and brought in freshmen David Cubillan and Lazar Hayward. Unfortunately, the Warriors have managed to shoot only a respectable but not quite good enough 31.6% from the downtown. They shot just 2-10 last night against Hillsdale, which is very worrisome for a team that has no real post threat. Cubillan, Fitzgerald, and Hayward are all capable of hitting a good number of threes, and Wes Matthews showed against Stritch that he can hit a few every now and then as well. But if the Warriors want to play deep into March they will need to find their shooting stroke.

4. Perimeter Defense
Even more importantly than their own outside shooting, the Warriors have allowed their two opponents to shoot43.8% from behind the arc. Better opponents should in theory shoot better, so it's not inconceivable to think that a strong outside shooting team could shoot 50% from downtown against this team. This would be simply unacceptable, so Marquette needs to step up their perimeter defense. Jerel McNeal, Wes Matthews and Dominic James are all good if not great on the ball defenders, and all three should be able to more or less shut down their opponents on the perimeter. The zone defense they have shown thus far has been ineffective as this is a team that is much more suited to play man to man. This should work itself out with practice and a few more games, but if it doesn't, it could be a real problem.

5. Energy
Energy has been a problem in both games, and has allowed both opponents to stay in the game much longer than they should have, and Hillsdale managed to have a four point lead at the half. Marquette looked much better in the second half of both contests, although it took a little bit longer last night. The second halves showed that this team can do it, but against better teams it will be crucial to have a high energy level for a full forty minutes. I'm not too worried about this as I suspect that it has had something to do with the level of opponents, but it is a concern.

GameCap - November 10 vs. Hillsdale

On Friday night, the Marquette Warriors disposed of the Hillsdale Chargers 76-66 in a game that was much closer than it should have been. The Warriors played sloppily, particularly in the first half, which ended with them trailing by four. They just never seemed to get it going offensively, and shot 41% from the field and 20% from three point land.

The Warriors were paced by 19 from Jerel McNeal and 13 from Dominic James. Wes Matthews, Sunday's high scorer, never got it going and finished with just 6 points. Freshman David Cubillan made several impressive hustle plays, including getting back on a fast break to knock the ball away.

Overall, it was a disappointing night for the Warriors, who left the game happy to get a win against a D-II school. Much improvement will be needed before the beginning of the CBE on Monday against Idaho State. I still think this team has a lot of potential and can have a great season, but they will have to work for it.

Game Preview - November 10 vs. Hillsdale

So we're finally here, the first official game of the season. It just feels good, doesn't it? In tonight's game, the Warriors will be taking on the Hillsdale Chargers. For those of you that don't know, Hillsdale is a small Division II school in Hillsdale, MI. The Warriors won their only exhibition contest 99-70 against Cardinal Stritch.

Marquette will have a rare height advantage in this one, as Hillsdale's tallest player is sophomore forward Tony Gugino. The Warriors should therefore enjoy a nice rebounding advantage, and should also be able to pick up some easy inside buckets. Look for Ousmane Barro to have a nice night, and don't be surprised if Jamil Lott and Mike Kinsella add solid contributions themselves.

As always, however, the Warriors will be led by the three-headed sophomore monster of Dominic James, Jerel McNeal, and Wesley Matthews. Matthews led all scorers against Stritch with 24 points and 5 of 6 shooting from downtown. McNeal needs to cut down on his TOs, and James still needs to work on his abysmal free throw shooting, but there is no doubt who the leaders of this team are. Also look for good shooting nights from David Cubillan and Dan Fitzgerald.

I really don't expect this to be much of a contest at all, and it will be over soon after it starts.

Prediction: 93-73 MU

Additionally, I would just like to add that you can nowget updates sent directly to your personal page at Yahoo! Google, AOL, NewsGator, and the like by clicking on one of the buttons on the right side of the page, beneath the archives. Also, beginning next week I will be doing a weekly series in which I honor the 90th season of Marquette Men's Basketball and the 30th anniversary of the 1977 NCAA championship team with profiles of great Marquette players, coaches, and moments.

Game Preview - November 5 vs. Cardinal Stritch (Exhibition)

Put on your golden t-shirt, get on your feet and work yourself into a frenzy, 'cuz it's time for Marquette basketball! After a seven and a half month layoff, the Warriors of Milwaukee will step back onto the hardwood at the Bradley Center and take on Cardinal Stritch in an exhibition matchup.

MU is coming off a 20-11 season that ended disappointingly with a first round loss at San Diego's Cox Arena against Alabama in the first round of the NCAA tournament. But that's history and don't expect to hear too much about it from here on out. That loss stung and it stuck in the minds of Marquette fans everywhere all offseason, but it will all be forgotten the second that Dominic James, Wes Matthews and Jerel McNeal lead the Warriors onto the court, even if it is only an exhibition.

Look for the Warriors to try and establish themselves early, as they are looking to run a more fast paced offense this year a style that should suit them well. The three sophomores are three guys on this team that no needs to worry about; they will get their points, play solid defense, be strong leaders on the floor, and will all be improved over what was a very strong freshman season. All three have shown better, more consistent jump shots in public scrimmages, and I expect big things from all of them. Returnees Ousmane Barro, Dan Fitzgerald and Jamil Lott are also looking to improve and play bigger parts than they did last season.

But it's not all about guys coming back and getting better; there are a few newcomers looking to make big contributions as well. Freshmen Lazar Hayward and David Cubillan and transfer Lawrence "Trend" Blackledge are looking to make their respective marks, too. Hayward is a highly touted recruit who should add a nice outside shooting touch and some decent rebounding, however due to missing over a month of team workouts because of an NCAA investigation will probably offer small contributions initially while he gets into the flow of things. Cubillan is a deadly outside shooter who will have on and off nights as he adjusts to Division 1 basketball, but will be a big asset to this team. Blackledge is very long and athletic, and will be able to make a lot of plays that will leave people's jaws on the floor.

Don't expect everyone to have a great night right out of the gate, but don't be surprised if the Warriors take care of business tonight.

Prediction: 83-59 Warriors